


The Past Can't Be Mended

by 0006_TheHorror



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Ben Hargreeves is Alive, Drugs, Healing, How many times do they have to try to get it right ?, Human Ouija Board, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves is really strong, Klaus can float, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pseudo-Incest, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Suicidal Thoughts, Time Travel, for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-24 19:11:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18168947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0006_TheHorror/pseuds/0006_TheHorror
Summary: "It's sad to see that two close people don't recognise each other anymore. Not because they grew up but because they grew apart."After being thrown back into the past, everyone tries their hardest to help Vanya with her powers but where one person moved into the families embrace, someone else moved out of it. The Academy get multiple chances and lifetimes to mend their mistakes, but will they finally realise that some mistakes just can't be mended.





	1. Karma

**Author's Note:**

> The ( ~ ) signifies a time skip.

Every time I opened my eyes, they were there. Every time I closed my eyes, they were there. No matter what happened, I could always see them. Whenever I told the others about the ghosts, they never believed me. They didn't know how it felt to see the dead everywhere. They didn't have the fears that I had because of the sights I witnessed. Yet, it was always me that was left out. I was hanging by a thin thread. One tiny little mistake away from being cast out... Just like her.

~~  
Violent shudders ran throughout the boy's body as he tried to calm his rapid breathing down. In. Out. That is all he had to do, but even he struggled to do that with the gory sights flashing before him. Klaus tightened his grip over his ears as he panted heavily. Tears ran down his smooth pale cheeks as he hoped and prayed it would end. Just a couple more hours... Just a couple more.

When the door finally swung open, the moonlight cast his abusers face in an otherworldly glow. His 'fathers' mouth was twisted up in only what could be described as a smile.  
"Gotten over your ridiculous fear yet number 4?"  
Number 4. That's all he was. A number.  
"P-please let me out! I beg you, I've gotten over it. Please, Father!"   
With a click of the tongue, Reginald closed the door and locked it up again. Klaus was completely surrounded in darkness, yet he was not alone. He could see many bodies that stood in front of him, all trying to speak to him at once. With a whimper, he closed his eyes and once again covered his ears. He could still hear them, yet he tried his hardest to endure it.  
~~  
It's amazing what the press saw compared to what happens at the house. As soon as the Umbrella Academy gates shut, all the children are forced to deal with the cruel teachings of their supposed father. Each child craved some form of stability in their life. They gripped to the things that could help them get through it. Luther gripped to Allison. Diego, to their Mother. Five to his studies. Vanya to her violin. Ben to his books. And Klaus? Well, he gripped to the best things he could get his hands on. Alcohol and drugs.  
~~  
Five was always known to be arrogant, yet everyone still cared for him. They still treated him like their brother, even if he didn't want their attention. But it was a shock to all of them when he left the house that night. Every child had tried to fight back to Reginald, yet Five had deliberately stood there and argued about his powers. When he was gone, the house became quieter. They had all wished to be like Five at that time. He was able to run away from the house; they couldn't.

Soon after that, Ben had died. Klaus was devastated. His brother, his best friend, his only friend had left him. Not purposely of course, yet it felt like that. Ben had managed to escape from their father's cruel teachings, just like Five had. Klaus delved deeper into the world of drugs and sought release from the horrible world he lived in.  
~~  
"You are capable of so much more Number 4. It's a shame you don't try. You really are a disappointment to the family"  
His father's monotone voice rang out around him, yet he didn't care, not when he was currently as high as a kite. He knew his father could tell, yet Reginald kept on lecturing him for his bad habits, not showing that he was planning to stop anytime soon.  
~~  
The first time he saw Ben's ghost, he intoxicated himself until he passed out. Who wished to have their dead brother hang around them? Certainly not him.

However, it didn't matter how many times he injected himself, or how many times he swallowed pills, he still saw Ben lingering around him.

"Why are you here?" Klaus hissed at the ghost as tears dripped down his cheeks. He got no response.  
~~  
"Live news: Sir Reginald Hargreeves has recently been found dead. The famed founder of The Umbrella Academy..."  
Klaus looked over the shoulder of one of his suppliers at the t.v playing the news.  
"Hey Klaus, aren't you one of those umbrella thingys?"  
"Indeed I am, it looks like daddy-dearest has finally gotten karma"  
Klaus exhaled and let the smoke swirl around him. His hands twitched at the side of his jacket as he tried his hardest not to smile at the news.  
"I think it's time I paid them a visit."  
~~  
'Paying them a visit' turned out to be a mistake. Yet he never regretted it. Not even when the unmistakable blue light of Five's power consumed him, and his siblings, sending them back years in time.  
The last thing he saw was the young faces of his family, looking around each other in fear. Then, a bright flash blinded him momentarily, but the next thing he knew was darkness.


	2. Ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Academy runs into a bit of a dilemma and Klaus meets a new friend.  
> I also am aware that a lot of this isn't canonically correct.

Buzzing filled his ears as Klaus finally came around. His thin frame shivered violently against the cold hard floor. Floor... Why is he on the floor?  
The visions of the past couple hours ( did it still count as hours?) came back to him. Blue light burned into his memory, along with the faces of his younger siblings.  
"Klaus?" A vaguely familiar voice called. Who was it?  
"Klaus, stop being lazy and get up." Ah. It was him. Klaus rolled over onto his side with a grunt. His stomach protested at the movement, but all he could do was grit his teeth and try and bare with the agony.  
"Leave me alone Diego, it's too early" slurred Klaus in his pain filled haze. Diego sighed and looked over to his other siblings that were all starting to become conscious. The others groaned in a mix of pain and nausea and sat upright, minus Vanya, as she was still unconscious on the floor beside Luther. Allison let out a gasp and ran to her sister's side, frantically looking over Vanya's body to see if she was injured. Everyone apart from Klaus turned to see the sisters, yet nobody seemed to notice that Ben sat alive and healthy under one of the garden trees touching his skin as if he felt like he was going to fade away any second now.  
Klaus closed his eyes as his body tried it's hardest to cope with not only sobering up but also time travel. God he wished he had something strong to drink. Or something to drink at all. He was quite parched. Maybe he should sort that. With a mental shrug, he finally sat upright and looked directly at Ben with a grin.  
"Looking pretty small and cute there Ben, never knew someone who moped around all day in black clothes acting all emo could ever be so..." He made a gesture with his hands hoping he would understand. "Well soft, and innocent"  
"Klaus... touch me"  
"Excuse me?" Klaus let out a fake gasp and placed his hand over his forehead in exaggeration. "Why didn't you ask earlier, you know I would have given it-"  
"Klaus! Listen to me." Ben held out his arm towards him. "Touch my skin."  
Klaus let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes "You know it doesn't work like that." He moved his hand down to touch Ben's arm expecting it to go straight through. Only, it didn't. Instead, he ended up slapping Ben's arm and recoiling back in shock.  
"Is there a chance that when we travelled back I just became really powerful? Or ?"  
"Yes Klaus, we just so happened to go back in time, and you managed to get super duper powerful. So powerful that you could summon ghosts without even thinking about it." Ben flicked Klaus's ear as a grin spread across his face. "Klaus... we went back in time. To a time, where I hadn't died yet... I'm back" The soft tone in Ben's voice was one that Klaus was not used to. Without noticing, tears silently dripped down Klaus' face. "You are back..." His voice came out uneven and shakey, yet a grin still tugged at the corner of his lips as he pulled Ben close to him for a hug.  
"Hey everyone, look, Ben's alive!" Klaus's voice caused everyone to turn around and stare at the man in question. Relief and happiness spread across all there faces. Ben was deeply missed, and now they had him back. They could prevent it all happening, including Ben's impending death.  
"Children?" The heavenly voice of their mother rung out across the garden. "Oh dear, look at you all. It's going to rain soon, come inside and get washed up before you become ill." Her eyes travelled across everyone else's individually "And before Master Reginald comes back, he wouldn't be too pleased to see you all in such a state." Everyone looked at each other in haste as they all rushed to stand up. Luther gently picked up Vanya as if she could break any second. Everyone walked inside, huddled up to one another.  
Standing in the living room, each sibling took it in turns to give Ben a hug; a pat on the shoulder in Fives case, accompanied by "Welcome back to the land of the living"  
"What do we do now? Not only are we now trapped in a child's body, but the only way we can continue forward is if we stay here." Allison stated as she looked around at everyone. "Dear old Reggie will catch on to us if we aren't careful." Luther rolled his eyes and shoved Klaus slightly. "Don't call him that. He is still our Father. We need to continue acting as we did back then."  
"Acting like this is what got us here in the first place Luther. You may be fine to continue picking fights with us all and acting like you are the best, but if you continue doing that, I will take over as the leader. We need someone responsible, which obviously isn't you." Diego made his point by stepping close enough into Luther's space hoping to intimidate him.  
"What day is it today?"  
"Wha- Why is that relevant Five? It's the 13th of December."  
"It's relevant because in case you assholes forgot, we are trying to save the world here. In 12 days, one of the most major time events happens, and this time we need to stop it happening."  
"12 days... December 25th, the day Father sent me on a mission. One that I never came back from." Ben spoke up from behind everyone. He had an open book in one hand, and in his other, he was fussing with his hair in a nervous gesture. His eyes were glassed over, but in sadness or fear, Klaus didn't know. Said man stepped closer to Ben and slung his arm casually around his brother's shoulders. "12 days to stop dear little Ben here from dying, seems pretty easy to me. All we need to do is ask the old man if someone else can go."  
"But what if one of us die? If Ben struggled and died, what makes you think that nobody else would die."  
"Diego makes a point Klaus, I have people I need to take care of, I have a daughter I need to think about, I can't go sacrificing myself."  
"A daughter? Really Allison? We have travelled back in time, she doesn't exist anymore." Five said in a monotone voice as he walked to look at the painting of them all together. "Let me think about a way to keep Ben alive, I'll get back to you when I'm done. In the meantime, try not to fuck everything up." Five teleported away into his room, leaving everyone else looking blankly at one another.  
The front door slammed shut as each children's posture straightened by instinct. Reginald came strolling into the living room. "Is there any particular reason as to why you are all gathered here Number One ?"  
"Sorry Sir, there is no reason. We were just going to our rooms" Luther hung his head as he walked up the stairs with everyone else in tow. Klaus cast a hateful glance at Reginald and for once, he hoped he was caught.  
~~  
Klaus had never felt this lonely in his life. He missed Ben. Of course, he was just two doors down, but Klaus missed his ever there presence. Ben was the one stopping him from relapsing. And now he isn't here, who is going to stop him? Klaus' destructive mind consumed him as he looked over at the ghost of a young eight-year-old girl. She had presumably died by strangulation if the unfadeable purple marks around her neck were anything to go by. He looked at her pitifully, after what he went through at the motel, nobody deserved pain like that, especially not someone so pure and innocent.  
"Hey there... What's your name?"  
"Rana"  
"That's a beautiful name, my name is Klaus. I'm a bit lonely, do you mind keeping me company? We could play some games together " His voice was uncharacteristically soft. The girl nodded and sat on the floor opposite Klaus. She held out her hands in a patty cake position. Klaus grinned at her as an image of Ben flash through his mind. They played for what felt like hours and even a couple of times their hands collided. Every time that happened, the girl would let out a giggle and congratulate him.  
This was how Ben found Klaus, playing patty cake with the air, speaking a mile a minute grinning like a mad man. He stood in the doorway watching over him with a fond smile. "Have you replaced me already?" Klaus let out a gasp and ran over to Ben. He pointed in Ranas' direction. "Ben meet Rana, Rana meet Ben. He used to be my ghost friend, And well... He isn't anymore." Ben rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and looked at where he presumed Rana was and waved. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Klaus, Father wishes to see us all so come down soon." Klaus's smile fell as he bowed his head down to the ground and Ben wished he could put that grin back on Klaus' face and make him happy again. But he couldn't, so he turned around and led Klaus downstairs into the hall where everyone else was gathered.  
"Number 4, Number 6, it took you a while to join us, if that had been an emergency I am sure you would have cost someone their lives. Time is precious, you cannot afford to waste it on dilly-dallying around."  
The immediate response of "Sorry Father" slipped off Ben's tongue. He knew that without apologising, he and Klaus would have been punished and he cannot let Klaus go through another session at the mausoleum. Not with how badly it effects him. All of the children stood in line in order of their numbers as their father stood in front of them.  
"In a couple of days, each of you will forego a solo assignment. " Vanya looked at Five in confusion. "They will all be suited to your particular abilities, apart from you Number 7. During this time, I expect you to train and plan how you are going to overcome these tasks." Reginald cast a harsh glare at each one of them and then walked off. The siblings all turned to stare at each other in confusion.  
"What happened to just Ben going on a mission?" Allison inquired as she looked at Five."The timeline has changed."  
"What do you mean by the timeline has changed!" Diego looked at Allison as they both shared a puzzled look. "I am here, in our last timeline I wasn't, I was already in the future. Therefore we cannot predict what's going to happen next anymore. This is what happens when you time travel. Even something as small as this can change the future drastically."  
"Does that mean Ben will still die?" Diego's voice wavered slightly "I don't know..." "Y-You- how can you not know? We can't afford to lose him a second time."  
"So... What do we do now?" Asked Luther, and for once, Five didn't know how to reply.  
"We wait and see."


End file.
